May 25, 2020 (via Zoom)
Crystal Díaz, co-founder of Produce! spoke with us about the status of food dependency in PR, and what her company is doing to connect producers (farmers, fishers, and food producers) and consumers on the island. This work has led to healthier food, greater biodiversity, an increase in jobs, and a new market for food producers in Puerto Rico … all with far less environmental impact. PRoduce has subscriptions packets, as well as an app (PR!) that allows customers to choose from a varied inventory, with food delivered everywhere on the island. Covid-19 has resulted in massive demand, and PR! is helping people get better food “sin contacto, pero con amor”.
March 4 and 9, 2020
On these days we delivered collections of almost 100 new English and Spanish books,
donated by AAUWPR to two libraries: Biblioteca Municipal Emilio Díaz Valcárcel in Trujillo Alto and the Biblioteca Electrónica Dr. Carlos Hernández in Carolina. Named “Inspiring Women Collection” it included fiction and nonfiction books for ages 5-18, all with stories of women and girls who overcame obstacles to improve our world today.
March 3, 2020
At a Rotary Club of San Juan luncheon honoring women, AAUW honored our own Mary Anne Maldonado for her years of dedication to women’s issues. A feminist activist in PR for decades, she lobbied for legislation to fund services and protect victims/survivors of domestic violence, fighting for their legal rights. She has served as a board and founding member of Casa Protegida Julia de Burgos, as well as serving on the board of the rape crisis center, Centro de Ayuda a Víctimas de Violación, also helping train health care workers to properly collect evidence for legal processing. Congratulations, Mary Anne, and thank you for all you have done for women and girls in Puerto Rico!
February 26, 2020
Reporter Rosario Fajardo, of The Weekly Journal, was our speaker on this night. A journalist with over twenty years of experience, she began her career as a journalist in an Arabic TV station in London, and had interesting cultural experiences to share with us through her lens as an Asian-American woman.
A new idea, The Condado Cocktail Committee, proved that we like to get together after hours to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. Rain or shine!
February 15, 2020
We toured the famous colonial-era cemetery, Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis, nestled between El Morro and San Cristóbal, next to La Perla. Very interesting guide! Some major movers and shakers in Puerto Rico are buried here (as well as a few Oscar winners). Lunch next door in La Perla was a first for some members to enjoy the food with the amazing view.
January 26, 2020
We learned about the efforts being made to conserve the manatee on the island at the Manatee Conservation Center in Bayamón. Our English-speaking guide was very informative, and we were able to see the manatees, turtles and birds currently being cared for by the Center. “In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” Baba Dioum, 1968
December 15, 2019 
Our Holiday Party! Around fifty members and friends came to celebrate the year together. Here are the lucky winners of the screen printing of the original work of the famous Puerto Rican painter Carmelo Sobrino. Many thanks to Dagmar for hosting again this year!
November 19, 2019
After our trip to see Zilia Sánchez’s exhibit in Ponce last month, we were ready for the program entitled ZILIA SÁNCHEZ’S DRESSED NUDES: The Preservation of a Most Singular Legacy. Dr. Irene Estéves Amador, art conservationist and documentarian, spoke about the preservation of Zilia Sánchez’s legacy using the artist’s own perspective as a guide.
November 13, 2019
We visited the exhibit of Margosa Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican artist who has spent many years living in Maine, and returns yearly to her workshop in Guaynabo. She shared information about 15 pieces of her “pop surreal” work, acrylic on wood, incorporating color and graphics, which represent her thoughts, meditations and understanding of the world we live in. Influenced by artists like Max Ernst, Hans Hoffman, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, she is also inspired by more marginalized artists and the “comic book” style.
November 9, 2019
We visited MAPRE this Saturday, with lunch
afterwards at Tuttobene Ristorante across the street. This was a chance to see MAPR’s new permanent exhibit: Puerto Rico Plural. It combines works of Puerto Rican artists from different genders, generations, historical periods and media, with the aim of showing the plurality of art that answers questions about what the Puerto Rican experience is about.
October 22, 2019
We invited Dr. IIeana Gonzalez and Vanessa Carballido to speak to us about the current status of Alternative Energy in Puerto Rico. Dr. Gonzalez, of the Complejo de Innovación Tecnológica at the Universidad Ana G. Méndez, Recinto Gurabo, spoke about the future of alternative energy sources in PR, with a focus on career paths, preparation, and opportunities for women. Vanessa Carballido, a lawyer and entrepreneur, co-founded Genmoji with her husband after Hurricane Maria hit the island. Their company seeks to make renewable energy accessible and affordable in PR, and aside from solar and storage, they are introducing innovative wind and waste-to-energy solutions. Genmoji has also partnered with Solar Libre, a six-month solar workforce apprenticeship program for 20 women, giving them academic and technical skills to engage in the solar workforce in Puerto Rico.
October 4, 2019
We went to The Art Museum in Ponce to see the exhibit of Zilia Sánchez, an artists famous for her “erotic topography”. Of Cuban descent, Zilia Sánchez has lived in PR since the 50s, and has recently been discovered by the international art world.
September 17, 2019
Many AAUW members have Rotary connections (and membership)! We sometimes go to lectures with particular topics of interest to us.
On this day, Ana Maria García Blanco, Director of Instituto Nueva Escuela, spoke about public schools in PR, with a Montessori perspective.
September 14, 2019
We had lunch and visited a series of small museums in the town of Caguas. The walking tour (La Ruta) of museums we visited included English-speaking guides at the Museo del Tabaco, Museo de Artes Populares, Casa del Trovador, and La Casa Rosada.
August 24, 2019
We donated a collection of 35 English books to the San Juan Community Library in Guaynabo. These books represent the contributions of various strong and special women of many fields of study and accomplishments. As library patrons read these books, it is our hope to brighten the outlook of the readers and open the young people’s minds and ambitions to new horizons as they read about these “Stand-Up Women”!
